Royal Ascot Betting Tips – 4.25pm St James’s Palace Stakes

June 16, 2014January 31, 2015 Thatsbettingtips Staff

Horse racing betting tips for the 4.25pm St James's Palace Stakes on Day 1 of Royal Ascot.

The St James’s Palace Stakes is the highlight of the first day of Royal Ascot, a race which sees the best three year-old milers line up to do battle once again. The race has been won by some of the best horses ever to have set foot on a racecourse including the likes of Frankel, Canford Cliffs and Dawn Approach.

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The betting is dominated by 2,000 Guineas runners, with KINGMAN (1/1 William Hill) the hot favourite yet again despite his second place finish in the Newmarket Classic. The John Gosden- trained colt travelled well throughout the race and was unlucky when beaten by half-a-length in the final few strides. Prior to that he got his three year-old campaign off to the perfect start winning the Greenham Stakes impressively and he confirmed his class by going on to win the Irish 2,000 Guineas on his latest start. He is by far the best horse in the race and would likely have won at Newmarket if it wasn't for the split of the field. Gosden has been in fine form lately, saddling seven winners over the last two weeks, and favourites have won this contest on five of the last six renewals which all bodes well for Kingman's challenge.

Night Of Thunder (5/2 Ladbrokes) is the horse who blotted Kingman's win record. This horse was a surprise winner of the Guineas after having managed to reverse the form of the Greenham. This Richard Hannon trained colt showed an impressive turn of foot and won at Newmarket despite veering markedly left in the closing stages. Richard Hughes take the ride, so it’s obvious that he thinks this is the stable's first string, and he will be looking to bolster his 18% strike rate so far this campaign. However, the split at Newmarket undoubtedly helped Night Of Thunder, and with a much smaller field here, I think that he will struggle to overhaul Kingman.

Hannon also runs Toormore (10/1 Ladbrokes) in this contest. He was the leading two-year-old last season however failed to make a real impact in the Guineas. He made his reappearance in the Craven Stakes at Newmarket and, despite winning by two lengths, it was a little workmanlike. It would be somewhat of a shock to see him beat both his stablemate and Kingman.

Aiden O’Brien has a fantastic record in this race, winning the contest six times previously, and is represented by War Command (7/1 Coral), last year's Coventry Stakes winner. He finished ninth in the Guineas on his first run of the season despite being backed on the day. He certainly looked like he needed the outing and could improve a great deal on his second outing.

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It’s not an original pick, but KINGMAN looks to be the best horse in this race. He was unlucky to not land the Newmarket Classic but confirmed his class when winning at the Curragh next time out. A repeat of that run gives him a huge chance and he should give Khalid Abdullah his first win in the race since 2011 with the mighty Frankel. As for an each-way play, War Command has good course form and represents a trainer with a fantastic record in the race.

St James’s Palace Stakes Betting Tip –

KINGMAN (WIN) (1/1 William Hill)

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